TITLE: I. Introductory Lesson: Connecticut Government - Where Function meets Crisis

 

Vocabulary

 

1. bi-partisan - supported by members of two parties, especially two major political parties.
2. caucus – a meeting of the local members of a political party.
3. Connecticut General Statutes – the collection of state laws that govern Connecticut.
4. due process – the administration of justice according to established rules and principles.
5. Ethics Commission advisory opinion – a formal response from the Commission to persons who are subject to the Code of Ethics that ask how the Code applies to specific situations.
6. executive session – when the public is excluded from the meeting of a public agency for purposes of discussing personnel matters, pending litigation, security issues, real estate deals or disclosure of public records.
7. Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) -  A law that requires the government to give out certain information to the public when it receives a written request
8. indict – to officially accuse someone of a crime.
9. jurisdiction – the power to exercise authority over persons and things within a territory.
10. Majority Leader – the leader of the majority party in either the House or the Senate.
11. Minority Leader – the leader of the minority party in either the House or the Senate.
12. quash – to make void.
13. Select Committee of Inquiry to Recommend Whether Sufficient Grounds Exist for the House of Representatives to Impeach Governor John Rowland – a group of ten Representatives assigned by the House in House Resolution 702. Committee is referred to throughout the unit as the Select Committee of Inquiry.
14. Speaker of the House –  Elected by the Majority party to preside over the session of the House.  Sets the agenda for the party issues and controls which bills are debated on the floor.
15. State Ethics Commission – in Connecticut, a nine member panel created to administer and enforce the State's Codes of Ethics.
16. subpoena – an order requiring an individual to testify.